Community Action Groups

How to plant a Flower: Creating and running a Community Action Group

As part of the municipal campaign to keep Tar Sands out of Toronto, we are creating a network of local Community Action Groups. These CAGs (or "Flowers" as we call them) are a small group of local residents who are committed to taking action against Tar Sands in their neighbourhood. The CAG will plan and host public information meetings in their Ward. They will act autonomously but will be connected in a network to share resources. The facilitator will recruit members ("Petals"), and arrange training and resources.

This campaign is politically non-partisan; it is not connected to any political party and is open to any resident who wants to stop Line 9.

Responsibilities

The job of a "Flower" is to share information in their community about the oil industry's attempts to transport DilBit (Diluted Bitumen) through our city, and to promote action by:

• Door-to-door canvasing
• Leafletting at local events (farmers markets, school meetings, etc.)
• Arrange public meetings in their neighbourhood for presentations about the issue
• Send letters to local media and talk with local reporters
• Tell everyone to contact their city councillor by email, letter, and phone, to demand that they support a motion to ban DilBit from Toronto

Goal

The goal is to force City Council to pass a motion banning the transport of DilBit through the city. Period. No extra safety measures will ever protect against the unexpected (see Fukushima or Lac-Mégantic). We will not pay the social costs for the oil industry's irresponsible quest for profits.